Abstract:
This study aimed at the design and analysis of broadband planar slot antenna for
future communication networks such as 5generation wireless communication systems
and beyond. The Ansys High-frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS 19) version (2019)
is used in the development and simulation modeling of the antenna. The HFSS
software is based on the finite element method (FEM) for solving electromagnetic
field problems. The main data used in this simulation tool are shapes and dimensions
of the desired model as well as feeding techniques. The proposed antenna in this study
is the broadband planar slot antenna. It is a compact multiband resonance antenna
with very good impedance bandwidth. Consequently, the conception and the
simulation of a new low cost rectangular planar antenna is performed based on the
theoretical equations to find out the initial antenna dimensions. The study found that
the proposed antenna has near stable radiation patterns across the operating bandwidth
albeit with high cross polarization patterns in the high frequency range (above 10
GHz) due to the asymmetrical nature of the antenna. A link budget analysis showed
that the antenna can work effectively as a WLAN antenna. Again, the path loss is less
than 75 dB over the entire 150 m chosen for the analysis. Key recommendations
included the need for future work to look into implementing the antenna as a
circularly polarized antenna to solve the issues of polarization. It was also
recommended that techniques to make the antenna reconfigurable should be explored
to avoid the need for extra signal processing circuits to switch between frequencies
when the antenna is deployed in a device.
Description:
A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering,
University of Education, Winneba, In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for
the Award of the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Electrical/Electronic
Engineering